Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1887-12-06
IN RE THE SCHOOL LANDS.

A Suggestion That the Prospective
state or states Lease tho school
Lands for aTerm OF Years Instead of
selling.
Yankton correspondence st. Paul
Pioneer Press: The land question is, in
various forms, before the country. The
general government is rapidly disposing
OF the public domain. Where now IN
Dakota the free homestead is available
to the settler The next generation will be
debating questions OF land monopoly, OF
rent and OF the poor and landless. The
two prospective staten receive from the
general government o vast and equally
distributed area of lands. These are
mainly the school lands, two sections in
each land township, to which will be
added the university lands the sgrieul-
tural college lands, those IN aid of pub
lie and for salt springs. max.
ing about SIX million acres in all, or
three million acres for each state. With
this land, owned absolutely by the state,
may not o new policy be adopted that
will tend to relieve these states largely
from the troubles that attach to this
question, and at the same time benefit
alike the people. The states should
never part with the title, but sell leases
for say twenty-five years each, at the
expiration OF which the title would vest
in the state and be again leased
for q similar term. This
leasing for twenty-five years would be
under the 5ame restrictions as to ap-
p~raisement and sale as provided for
actual fee simple sales, and all should be
fixed by the constitution. Thus sales
would be oonstantly made as lands be,
came available, and at the end OF twenty.
five years from the beginning there
would be q regular rsletting by the
state. The absolute sale of all the land
places q vast trust fund in the hands of
the state which is in more or. less con-
Istant danger of loss. 1t must also be
invested in order to bring an income,
for no n proposes to nae up the prin-
eipal. Real estate security must be
taken for these loans, with many hun
bred local officers to decide all the points,
and with danger from defective titles
If the state never sells the land it has
absolute security, for the prlncipal; it has
no great trust fund to handle, and
avoids all the risks which have, as q
matter OF history, lost the lands or school
funds largely in the states. The Sioux
Falls convention met the question adj
miHably SO far as the old plan 10 oon-
Gerned, and to avoid the waste of lands
and funds postponed the time for
selling o large part, provided cbecke
tagainst srauds in sales and legislated in
the constitution the entire method oil
loaning the money through the counties
Yet when they had done so we'll there
was s feeling that all danger was no,
ohyiated and that much latitude wat
left for offoIal Judgment where lands
varied so in value. Under the long
Tense ii equal latitude were left the title
would not pass, the Htete il it erred il
Judgment would keep the principal and
recover it, In Iowa. Illinois. Wiscon
Sin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and othe
states careful study shows that th,
school lands were largely wasted; ant
former years cannot be applied TO th,
present for the principal, the land, ii
gone. These states partly excuse thit
early history of neglect by the argumen
that the money was then mos
needed to aid the start of schools. Du
is IL not true that the older states, witt
dense populations and great increase Q
the poory find they need q veste,
school fund more than when they wer
new. There ls certainly no ex
cuEc for the great waste. Th
purchaser for twenty-five years shonl
have the power to sell, lease. mortgag
and otherwise dispose OF his interest
and the land should be subject to sue
taxation, for all purposes, as the anexpil
ed term would be- worth. The Ian
should be SO leased in tracts not exceed
ling q quarter section in area, and
future sales. when population was dense
0 and the landless more numerous, th
area sold to each could be reduced b
j Law. Finally il this policy thus fairly trie
!. we're not the best. the state could the
sell and acquire a fund that would pei
maEently sustain the public achoo
The lessee should be required to pay
. small part IN advance and then a regult
annual payment, except for the lsl
year or twio with power in the state |
recover the land for failure to pay, Tt
money thus received should be twiS
each year apportioped among the echo,
~corporatiorIs of the state, the same "a il
come from lhe vested school fund unds
the old plan. The sales would, of cours
4 be at o lower price than for full It'll
bus Line aggregate income woul
be greater, she ,aapltalM safe, ami tt
Scat Aof collection no more this
Of interest. The time is longer than I'll
average III the tenure OF farras, and Is
e long M one generation needs q tasrl,
I. t'iona "a ennd gmproveelents will last an
: long enough TO justify the purchaser
making . considerable home. Tho snna
LfHEHE -